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Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary Episode 13 Review

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This week we got the conclusion to Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary but really there was never much chance of the overall story being resolved. There was just too much going on in the world and so this final episode, much like the series, chose instead to focus on a battle that will decide the next steps for each of these characters.

The Yin, Ning and Zhao issue is effectively brought to a close by the events in this episode. And while Zhao remains a conflicted character who can’t really seem to pick a side, he does at least take action rather than waiting for power to be bestowed upon him. He pays a high price but he does manage to contribute in some small way to the survival of Yin, Ning and Cheng.

Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary Episode 13 Zhao

Yin and Ning’s sisterly conflict is also kind of resolved though all things considered it just kind of feels like they are back to where they started at the beginning of the series. Possibly there was more of a resolution here but it just felt like we’d come full circle with Ning in even worse shape and Yin with yet more baggage to carry emotionally. While it might seem callous, it really felt like one of these two needed to be sacrificed for the story to make sense and while they kind of manage to make this work, it doesn’t have a lot of impact as you are kind of just left rolling your eyes as Yin refuses to leave Ning and Zhao and then they pull a power of love last minute save (though again, Ning and Zhao have already taken quite heavy losses throughout this fight).

Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary Episode 13 Cheng

However, it is Cheng, in her very limited screen time, who gains the most this episode. While Zhao is wishing for her happiness, Cheng has kind of adopted a very fatalistic attitude refusing to leave the palace despite the danger. She survives unscathed physically but her attitude during the credits and the ongoing expansion of the empire makes it clear that she’s been emotionally scarred and she has no one left around her to soften her attitude. While Cheng was the leader of the empire through this series, it was hard to see her as the big bad, but if this ever got a second season that is almost sure to change.

Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary Episode 13 Zhao and Ning

It is hard to say if anything was actually accomplished by these events other than a big explosion and some personal dramas, but I will admit this season has been relatively fun to watch. I’ll get to a full season review of it soon, but despite the fairly dodgy animation, this was a fun historical/fantasy story to get lost in this season.

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Review:

Obi Wan Kenobi probably said it best when he told Luke, “So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.” History is open to interpretation and two people given the same set of facts may very well draw different conclusions. It gets even muddier when you mix in people’s emotions and the pride of a country. And it is this perspective that this week’s Kino’s Journey looks to highlight and while it does it well enough, as always this show kind of lacks subtlety.

It is almost as though they start from ‘and this week the message is’ and then find a way to shove that into the viewers face repeatedly throughout the course of the story. The story itself, this week, is actually kind of interesting as we have Kino relating a story their master once told them about a country with a clock tower and then when we get to the end of the story Kino arrives in the country. The man she speaks to their has a different version of the same story but just in case you were wondering who was lying there’s a fairly obvious visuals clue and then Kino verbally draws attention to it. Just in case you missed it.